IlluMyFi

New Delhi, Jan 13 (PTI) India has flagged its concerns in the Trade Policy Forum (TPF) meeting about problems being faced by domestic businesses in getting timely visas for the US and has urged America to fast track the process, an official statement said on Saturday. The issue came up for discussions during the 14th TPF meeting here on Friday. It was co-chaired by the US Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal. Also Read | Guwahati-Bound IndiGo Flight Lands in Dhaka Due to Bad Weather; Flyers Stuck for Hours (See Pics). The commerce ministry said that the two ministers noted that the movement of professional and skilled workers, students, investors and business visitors between the countries contributes immensely to enhancing bilateral economic and technological partnership. "Minister Goyal highlighted challenges being faced by business visitors from India due to visa processing time periods and requested the US to augment processing," the statement said. Also Read | Ayushman Bharat Reaches a Milestone As Over 30 Crore Indians Get Access, Says Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya. The ministers also acknowledged the role of professional services in catalysing bilateral trade between the countries and noted that issues related to recognition of professional qualifications and experience can facilitate services trade. The two countries have agreed to set up a mechanism to cut down non-tariff barriers with a view to promote bilateral trade, it said. In the meeting, the Indian side also demanded lifting the ban on exports of wild caught shrimps as the prohibition is affecting Indian fishermen and exports. "The ministers agreed to establish a Joint Facilitative Mechanism (JFM) to mitigate non-tariff barriers," the commerce ministry said. Under this, the countries would look at mutually recognising results from International Laboratories and establish mutual recognition arrangements on a bilateral basis whenever possible. "This would eliminate duplicative testing requirements and reduce compliance costs for trade in high-quality goods," it said. The statement also said that the two sides discussed how to fast track the engagement for the social security totalization agreement in future. The agreement is one of the key asks from the Indian side in the TPF which will significantly contribute towards enhancing services trade between countries and help Indian IT professionals who temporarily work in the US. Further, the ministers agreed to launch future joint initiatives in areas, including critical minerals, customs and trade facilitation, supply chains, and trade in high-tech products. In this, the two countries would develop an ambitious and forward-looking roadmap for enhanced cooperation in order to achieve economically meaningful outcomes, it said. India emphasized the need to increase the number of inspections by the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) in India to reach the pre-pandemic level. The US is India's top export market for pharma products. In the backdrop of the pandemic, USFDA had stopped conducting inspections and audits in India for a long period, and resumed later, which resulted in a huge backlog impacting product approvals and unit approvals / renewal.

Sentiment

Bearish/Bullish

13.01.24 05:28

by latestly.com

World News | Molasses Makers in Nepal Under Pressure Due to Short Preparation Wi...

Kathmandu [Nepal], January 13 (ANI): Restless hands, boiling lumps of sugar, and its aroma always linger in the air around the ancient city of Tokha these days, as it has been the sole supplier of the molasses locally called "Chaku" for years. Workers preparing molasses this year are under pressure to maintain the supply of enough "Chaku" in the market, as they had relatively less time to prepare and dispatch it to the market. Demand for the confectionary has already risen in the market with the arrival of Maghe Sankranti, the festival of Chaku. Also Read | Japan: Crack Found on Cockpit Window of ANA Boeing 737-800 Aircraft Mid-Air, Plane Safely Lands at Sapporo-New Chitose Airport. Buddha Shrestha, an entrepreneur at Tokha, told ANI, "Demands for Chaku (molasses) are rising year by year. The season is quite short this year, because of which we fear that we won't be able to tap into the supply as per demand. We are making efforts to pump on enough produce for the market but we are not able to supply enough amount of Chaku as per the demand of the market." Shrestha added that the production of Chaku in the ancient town started late by about 10 days this year in comparison to the previous ones. Also Read | UK Shocker: Mother, Her Ex-Partner Kill 18-Month-Old Boy in 'Cruel and Brutal' Attack, Jailed For Life. "In previous years we used to start producing Chaku in high volume from mid-November but this year we started late from the first week of December. The demand of Chaku increases when the Newa: a community of Kathmandu Valley devour themselves celebrating Yo:mari Punhi and the festival as per the lunar calendar started late which gave us a window of 19 days to prepare enough Chaku for the Maghe Sakranti. In the earlier years we used to have about a month to prepare and supply enough to the market but this year the season is short which has resulted in low supply," Shrestha explained. The Newa, a community of Kathmandu valley consume a high volume of Chaku- confectionery made from concentrated sugarcane juice, jaggery, ghee and nuts which holds significance on the Maghe Sankranti- the first day of the 10th month as per the Lunar calendar. This process involves melting jaggery, stirring it continuously and then cooling it in clay pots. It is then whipped, slapped, and stretched until it turns dark brown. The confectionery is then weighed, topped with nuts, and packaged. The whole process takes two to three hours. "Consuming Chaku would regulate body temperature. It increases warmth in a person's body as well as plays a role in producing milk for breastfeeding. Women can take benefit through its consumption," Rahul Shrestha, another entrepreneur briefed about its major health benefit. As many as 1100 grams of sugar lumps, 'Bheli', are needed to prepare one kilogram of molasses and the producers only can make a profit of Rs 15-20 through the sales. The business of making molasses is seasonal and functions full-fledged for 2 months in a year. The rest of the time entrepreneurs...